Weightless
by HoldontomySoul
Summary: Read. Review. You know the drill. :


All right, so I just found my copy of the movie "Tuck Everlasting" and decided that, since I still hate the ending as much as I did when I was ten years old, I would write an alternate ending to the crappy one. I know that it's all sentimental in the book and the movie, and is supposed to be very touching, but I still want Winnie and Jesse to be together.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Also, I have not read the book in a VERY long time, so I am going off the events in the movie. Please don't kill me.

_The house looks the same. _

This was the first thought that struck Jesse's mind as he looked at the house that used to be one of the finest in town. His heart raced as he looked at the house and a rush of excitement flooded through him; he had waited almost a century for this day. He parked his bike, and was about to walk through the cast-iron gate, when the front door of the house opened, and a family walked out to the car sitting in the driveway. Confused, Jesse stopped. This house was supposed to be Winnie's, but she wasn't among this family.

"Excuse me," Jesse said, approaching the people. "I am a historian tracing the roots of this town. I was told that this particular house has a very long history. Perhaps you could tell me a bit about it?" Jesse had become quite good at lying in the two hundred years he had been alive. He had to, in order to stay undiscovered.

"Oh, yes. This house has been around for about one hundred and fifty years," the father of the family said, "It used to belong to a family by the name of Foster. Did you know that there is a town legend about the Foster girl – I think her name was Wanda or Wendy or something – anyways, there's a legend that she stayed young and beautiful forever." At this, Jesse's heart skipped a beat.

_ Could it be?_

"This house was sold to my grandfather sixty years ago, and my father inherited it, and now I have inherited it. Come to think of it, I think that Miss Foster herself sold my grandfather the house. You could probably find a record of it down at the town library, if you like," the man continued.

"I'll do that. Thank you so much for your time. Have a nice day," Jesse said politely, turning back to his bike. He made to look like he was fastening his helmet as the family's car pulled out of their driveway and trundled down the road, then turned slowly to the forest. He pushed his bike down the path and hid it in some bushes, and then began to walk. He remembered these woods, and little landmarks jumped out at him everywhere. It was as though his feet knew where to go, and before he knew it, he was standing in a clearing, looking at the tree. The sound of the bubbling spring filled his ears. As he reached the spot, he knelt beside the spring, and dipped his hand into it. As his fingers brushed the silt at the bottom, they glided along something smooth, something that was definitely not part of the natural spring. He removed it and looked at the object. It was a bottle. There was a cork with a wax seal on one end, and inside…

Jesse's breath caught. Inside the bottle was a rolled up piece of paper. After removing the cork, he carefully pulled the note out and unrolled it.

"_My Dearest Jesse-_

_I will wait for you forever, just like I said that I would twenty years ago. The world has continued to go on without us, but our love remains constant and unchanging. If you are reading this, then this is going to be a very happy day for both of us. Come to the place that I have now made my home. You know where._

_All my love-_

_Winnie"_

Jesse read the words over and over again. If Treegap was no longer Winnie's home, then how was he supposed to find her? He looked at the note again.

_You know where._

And then something locked into place, and he was off, running through the trees that he had lived in for over eighty years. He ran until he could see the lake, and kept going. There it was, looking the same as the last time he had seen it. He walked toward the house, his heart racing madly, and excitement coursing through him. When he reached the porch, he heard a familiar tune being hummed. He walked around the house toward the back, and there she was.

She was standing with her back turned to him, hanging up laundry. She continued to hum softly as she did her work, and Jesse began to hum with her. As her ears picked up his lower voice singing with her own, she turned slowly. She stared at him in near disbelief.

"Jesse?" She asked, her face splitting into a smile.

"I told you I would come back for you someday," he replied, smiling back. They looked at each other for another moment, and then they were in each other's arms. Jesse held Winnie close, never wanting to let go. He pulled away to look at her face more closely. She looked older than he had remembered her being, and she was much more beautiful as well.

"Winnie? How old were you when you drank the spring water?" He asked.

"I was seventeen. I wanted to wait until we were the "same" age," Winnie replied, smiling. Jesse smiled back, and leaned into her. Their lips touched for the first time in almost a century. There was never another time in Jesse's life that made him feel like he could float off to heaven except for now. As they broke apart, Jesse rested his forehead against Winnie's in complete contentment.

"So, how do you feel now?" He said.

"Weightless again." Winnie replied.

They both stood there in each other's arms, and knew that there would be many more of those moments of weightlessness, and that the other would be there to help carry them along.

So, like it? Hate it? Let me know. Personally, I think the ending sucks, but that's just me….REVIEW!


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